News of charge for website usage brings explanation

Published: Saturday, September 21, 2013 at 12:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, September 20, 2013 at 3:28 p.m.

Slightly more than a year ago, I wrote a column about the demise of an online streaming radio station, blueridge.fm, when the operator couldn't generate enough revenue to remain online. Here are two paragraphs from that column:

"I must admit that I felt a bit of guilt that I never sent any money to help support the station. Those of us in the news business have often lamented how readers expect to visit our websites for free and resist efforts to pay to read articles. Yet I was doing the same thing on blueridge.fm. …

"Once someone becomes accustomed to something being free, attempting to charge for it becomes difficult. Many news sites are beginning to erect paywalls in which readers are asked to pay a certain amount to view a story or pay a set amount on a regular basis. For now, the-dispatch.com remains free, although that could change in the future."

The future has now arrived for readers of the-dispatch.com. Publisher Steve Skaggs announced in a letter on the front page Wednesday that beginning Oct. 1, print subscribers will continue to be able to freely access articles on the website and our mobile site. Those who don't subscribe will be able to read five articles per month at no charge, but afterward they will have to register and pay $9.95 a month for digital-only access.

The decision to enact a digital subscription plan came from a corporate strategy at Halifax Media Group, one with which we agree. The digital subscriptions have already been rolled out at several other Halifax papers, and more will do so in the near future along with The Dispatch. We join hundreds of newspapers across the country that no longer allow free access to their website. The same day Steve announced our plans, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported a similar plan to ours.

As expected, some readers reacted very negatively to the news about the digital subscriptions. They expressed their opinions with comments on our website. Yet other people said they understood. I heard from an online reader who lives outside our circulation area who said he enjoyed the "timely reporting of local news" on the site and would be willing to pay a reasonable amount; a print subscriber who doesn't use the website and thought this was a more equitable arrangement; two readers who expressed surprise it had remained free this long; and friends who understood the costs of gathering and reporting the news no matter the platform.

It's never easy to see yourself or organization subjected to negative comments, which happened Wednesday. In one regard, the fact people commented showed they value the product we produce. And they used that very website that we provide to vent.

Although we wanted to reply, for the most part employees of The Dispatch didn't respond to the more negative comments. But I did want to make a few points and clarify some misperceptions or inaccuracies:

• Newspapers historically used a model that involved payment for the product as well as advertising support. When they began going online in the mid-1990s, most debuted with free sites. That model hasn't worked, especially with declines in print revenue. So we're now returning to the model of user fees and advertising support online.

• As mentioned above, it still costs to produce the news online. Reporters and photographers, companies that provide site features and businesses that offer the infrastructure must be paid. The Dispatch would go out of business if it can't generate a profit.

• How many services do you receive for free? Very few if any.

• Finally, and most importantly, The Dispatch remains the primary source for news about Davidson County. Some readers said they'll just go elsewhere for their news. As someone who regularly monitors other newspapers, TV stations , websites and radio stations, no one else covers Davidson County like The Dispatch. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but that's just the truth.

Many times our reporters and photographers will be the only media members present at government and school board meetings, sporting events, classroom activities and wreck scenes. I keep track of the number of news, business, lifestyles and sports stories we produce weekly. For the 37 weeks in 2013, we've averaged just more than 48 stories a week — and that doesn't account for news briefs, which probably average about 20 to 25 a week.

I believe it remains vitally important for citizens to know what's taking place in their community. It helps them make informed voting decisions, know what's being built, avoid congested construction zones, praise a neighbor who appears in an article, intelligently comment to elected leaders on issues and so much more. The Dispatch provides the best source of that information.

I'll leave you with a final thought from that column on blueridge.fm: "If a site brings value to the reader or listener, then he should be willing to pay a reasonable fee." I hope nonsubscribers will consider buying a subscription to receive the best of both the print edition and our online site. And I hope those who for whatever reason want to remain digital-only readers will be willing to pay to continue reading the-dispatch.com.

Chad Killebrew is executive editor of The Dispatch. He can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 215, or at chad.killebrew@the-dispatch.com.

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